Short Answer Questions

2. Who was so pleased with Custer's decision to attend West Point that he gave him $200 for expenses?

3. Who wrote to Custer, "...I had to weep for joy that the recollection was sweet in your memory"?

4. About how much did Crazy Horse weigh at the age of 24?

5. How many times during their lives did Crazy Horse and Custer come in contact with each other?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the "Panic of 1873"?

2. What did the government mean about "civilization" in the Treaty of 1868?

3. What were the results of Custer's leadership on the Wilderness campaign of May, 1864?

4. Crazy Horse becomes a leader of a band of Sioux in Chapter 20. Explain what this means.

5. In Chapter 11, why does the author describe Custer as a romantic?

6. What was the demerit policy of West Point when Custer attended? How many demerits did he regularly receive?

7. What was the real purpose of inviting Red Cloud, Spotted Tail, and other Indian leaders to Washington in 1870?

8. Describe what happened when Custer and his wife left for the Wilderness Campaign.

9. What did De Crevecoeur have in mind when he wrote, "The American is a new man who acts on new principles"?

10. What were agency Indians?

Essay Topics

Essay Topic 1

Why do you think that the author chose to write about two very different men instead of a biography of a single man? In your opinion, does he do this successfully? Explain your answer.

Essay Topic 2

Ambrose writes that both Crazy Horse and Custer "lived in a society that exalted individualism..." Describe how both Native American and white societies praised individualism.

Essay Topic 3

The loss of a friend (Hump), his brother (Little Hawk), and ,then , his daughter had its effect on Crazy Horse. In addition, Crazy Horse's efforts to be with Black Buffalo Woman failed; therefore, he lost her as well. On the surface, he appeared even more quiet and would disappear for weeks at a time. Discuss the effect of grief in the life of Crazy Horse.